Are you sitting comfortably?

TIE is the brainwave of Founder and MD, Philippa White. She’s lovely.

Following 5 years of being very busy and important in London’s adland, Philippa had an inkling that she could use her skills to make an even bigger impact on the world.

So she went for a couple of coffees with some very clever and important people to talk about her idea of an international exchange, one that could develop employees from the world of communications in a different way. They really liked it, and so she set to work.

Her first epiphany came when she noticed there seemed to be a host of NGOs in developing countries that could benefit from professional communications support. She then observed a need to provide the opportunity for comms types to see the world outside of their native Soho and to give them an opportunity to use their skills in a positive way and see the difference it could make.

Then came the fun part, a research marathon through the UK and Brazil until, ta-da, TIE was born.

In 2006, UnLtd*, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs awarded TIE a tidy little grant to help get us off the ground. We may have done a little dance and called everyone we know, but since then we have never looked back.